On a new Facebook page created to discuss local road conditions, some residents were quick to point out that road conditions often change once they drive past Priestly Hill, approximately 32 km east of 亚洲天堂 Lake.

The Priestly Hill area marks the boundary between the highway sections maintained by Lakes District Maintenance (LDM) and Yellowhead Road & Bridge.

鈥淲e travelled from Rose Lake to Vanderhoof early a.m. today鈥� terrible roads right up to the top of Priestly Hill, then clear all the way to Vanderhoof鈥�. what possible reason can LDM give to justify roads like that when Yellowhead can obviously do the same job so much better,鈥� posted 亚洲天堂 Lake resident Rande Mcmurray on Nov. 26 on the new Facebook page called 鈥橪akes District Hwy. 16 complaints and bouquets.鈥�

According to Mike Philip, LDM鈥檚 quality assurance manager, these complaints are only accurate to some extent. Although the Priestly Hill area marks where LDM鈥檚 coverage ends, it also marks the beginning of a different weather pattern.

鈥淭he [road maintenance] service areas are actually specifically made for where there鈥檚 different weather patterns,鈥� he explained. 鈥淪ometimes as soon as you pass Priestly Hill there鈥檚 less snow.鈥�

Philip said it鈥檚 not uncommon to see different weather patterns within short distances.

鈥淔or instance, Smithers might get more snow than us, or we might get more snow than them. They recently got some freezing rain that we didn鈥檛, and they were really fighting it while our roads looked wonderful; we didn鈥檛 do anything different, we just didn鈥檛 get the freezing rain.鈥�

Although there have been some rumours in town of LDM having less manpower than last year, Philip says LDM has the exact same number of trucks and manpower this season.

鈥淣othing has changed from last year,鈥� he said. What has changed, however, is that the weather so far has been unusual.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been tougher than normal weather-wise,鈥� said Philip. 鈥淲e definitely had a lot more snow than we normally would [by this time of the year], especially not getting breaks for days in a row; the past few weeks have been unrelenting. It鈥檚 not really the resources a lot of times, but the conditions you鈥檙e up against,鈥� he continued. 鈥淪ometimes no matter what you do, how many trucks you have, it doesn鈥檛 matter鈥� you just can鈥檛 beat mother nature.鈥�

Philip explained that although road maintenance companies will often make the best possible decisions given the information that they have at the time, weather conditions might change unexpectedly.

鈥淲hen you have freezing rain, you have to be careful with what you do beforehand. We recently had some snow on the side of the roads, and we knew that the freezing rain was coming, so we purposely left some snow on those roads. If we leave a little bit of snow, at least that crunchy snow is there for some traction.鈥�

Philip said Lakes District Maintenance has staff available 24/7, and that given the recent weather conditions, many crew members have been working longer hours.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had our guys come earlier, staying later, doing lots of overtime; we鈥檙e doing what we can with the manpower we got,鈥� he said.

Philip adds that the community can rest assured knowing that LDM staff are doing the best they can.

鈥淥ur guys take a lot of pride in doing a good job, they really do. Their families drive on these roads, my family drive on these roads. We all want the roads to be safe.鈥�

He also encouraged residents who have concerns to call LDM鈥檚 toll free number (1-888- 255-8055) at any time.

鈥淎ll calls are recorded and we take those calls seriously, so if people have legitimate concerns, that number is available.鈥�

Lakes District Maintenace鈥檚 coverage extends from the Priestly Hill area to Hungry Hill (approximately 32 km west of Houston), and from Babine Lake to the Southside.

Which road gets plowed first?

B.C. highways are classified A, B, C, D and E, and are maintained in that order. Winter highway classifications in B.C. are based on traffic volumes and function.

A highway with an 鈥淎鈥� classification is allowed up to four centimetres before it must be plowed, while an 鈥淓鈥� is allowed up to 25 centimetres.

In 2014, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure changed the maintenance classification for Hwy. 16 to a Class A level, meaning more maintenance and quicker response times. Hwy. 35 is a class B road for winter maintenance.

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